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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. sharp — clever
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hand — in cards
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rest — a break
  13. hand — help
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. game — a match
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com